Lynn Schulman Wins Forest Hills' City Council Primary Race

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Lynn Schulman is "encouraged" by the latest ranked-choice voting results released on Friday, which show her with a sizable lead over her closest rival, Aleda Gagarin.

On Saturday, Schulman tweeted that she was "encouraged by the results thus far," after the vote counts showed her holding a 1,581-vote lead over Gagarin in the final ranked-choice round, once the other seven Democratic candidates had been eliminated.

Gagarin conceded on Saturday that it is "unlikely" that the votes will secure her the win — a point that was substantiated late on Tuesday when the race's updated results were published. The latest results include a preliminary count of absentee ballots.

The race to represent District 29 remained crowded throughout this election cycle, with 10 people — including 9 Democrats and one Republican — running to succeed longtime, term-limited City Council Member Karen Koslowitz.

Among the Democratic candidates, Schulman was regarded as the moderate front-runner.

In the weeks leading up to the primary she led the district's fundraising race — including donations and independent expenditures from political committees and labor unions.

However, Gagarin, an activist and nonprofit leader, who received endorsement and support from progressive leaders and organizations, outpaced Schulman when it came to the total number of individual donors, both in the district and the race at-large.

Major issues in the race included the construction of the Kew Gardens jail, which all candidates opposed despite the fact that building is slated to begin soon, and the rise in reported hate crimes in the neighborhood — as well as citywide.

This races, like all in the June primaries, won't be officially certified by the Board of Elections until at least July 12.

Schulman will be heavily favored in November's general election, where she will face Michael Conigliaro, the race's lone Republican. Assuming she wins, she will take office in January.

Related coverage: Everything You Need To Know About Forest Hills' City Council Race